As companies like Apple show, being politically correct and ‘good’ can be a smart marketing tool – you’re riding the zeitgeist of your customer base. But there are cases where the pivot to ‘wokery’ makes such a screeching noise that customers smell out a company simply being opportunistic. We’ve seen Disney being punished for swivelling from being an iconic creative giant providing wholesome family animation and movie magic to trying out a woke, LGBT+ agenda-seeking crusader. Now, it’s the turn of high-end lingerie brand Victoria’s Secret to be told to stick to what it does best: produce alluring women’s undergarments.
So, what kind of branding pivot did VS attempt that didn’t go down well? Well, in 2018, the company junked its sexy catwalk shows to get on board of the post-#MeToo ‘body positivity’ climate including plus-size, transgender and differently abled models to send out an ‘inner beauty’ message. Noble, sure. Well-meant, maybe. But that was like a cigarette company trying to be seen as an anti-pollution warrior. Now, VS’ revenue projection for 2023 is down to $6.2 billion, from the realised revenue of $7.5 billion in 2020. Before the slide became an avalanche, the company has turned back to being an ambassador of ‘sexiness’ – and, er, ‘outer beauty’. The solution? ‘Sexiness can be inclusive’ rather than the other way around.
